Three major Downtown Atlanta employers recently participated in the Virgin HealthMiles "Walk to Win" Challenge. Coca-Cola, Georgia-Pacific and SunTrust, recently came together and laced up their walking shoes to participate in the first "Walk to Win" challenge. Nearly 6,000 downtown Atlanta-area employees representing these major brand name organizations joined together for some friendly competition during the three-week challenge to promote good health and see which company could take the most steps. In total, challenge participants from these three organizations cumulatively logged more than 365,000 miles.

"For workplace wellness programs to effectively improve employee health and lower costs, employees need to participate over the long term. Challenges -- whether between individuals, departments or companies -- are one of the most effective strategies for creating social communities that support ongoing employee engagement," said Chris Boyce, CEO of Virgin HealthMiles. "We congratulate Coca-Cola, Georgia-Pacific and SunTrust for their demonstrated leadership in providing employees with the tools and motivation they need to make healthy lifestyle choices."

The winner of the Walk to Win challenge was Georgia-Pacific, whose 1,715 team members took a total of more than 388 million steps -- or the equivalent of nearly eight times the circumference of the globe. Georgia-Pacific was awarded the 2011 Walk to Win Challenge trophy.